Its possible that, out of all the monsters on this list, Aaron Eckharts Chad is the most purely evil. This is despite the fact that no one is killed, tortured or even injured in Neil LaButes blackest of black comedies, In The Company Of Men: its about the toxic environment that a corporate culture of pure masculinity can breed; about status, and transfers of power between people with little to no emotional accountability. Chad and Howard are on temporary assignment to a project in another office for six weeks, and get to talking while waiting for the flight out: both have recently been dumped by their respective girlfriends, and Chad has a solution for their wounded egos. Theyll both select a vulnerable woman, turn on the charm, and spend the next six weeks romancing her to the point of adoration, only to callously pull the plug on the final day and leave town. And so it goes. The easily led Howard is convinced by alpha male Chad over drinks and camaraderie, they find their mark in the form of Christine, a deaf personal assistant at work, and set to work (separately) seducing her. So far, so misogyny 101 but Chad is a far worse person than that. As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that he just hates people, all people, on a general and specific basis. Over the weeks, events are orchestrated so that Howard loses control of the project while Chads star rises, and it becomes increasingly apparent that Chad is manipulating the weaker man as much as he is their supposed target (who Howard is genuinely falling for, but who has been utterly taken in by Chad). The film culminates in their grotesque game playing out exactly as Chad predicted it would: Christine chooses him over Howard, who tells her the truth. Christine confronts Chad in turn, and he laughs at her pain. Back at home, Howards life is in pieces, and he confronts Chad at home only to find that he has been lying all along: hes still with the woman he claimed dumped him weeks earlier. There was never any catalyst for the game. He did it all just because he could, and asks Howard, just as he asked Christine: so how does it feel?
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
